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But lazy bastards like me don't want to get up one minute before we have to. Roll out of bed, splash some water on my face, brush my teeth and drive. Spending 15 minutes cleaning a truck at the crack of dawn kills the whole day:vs_laugh:
Funny, I was just thinking to myself "If these lazy bums can't spend 5-10 minutes cleaning up the truck in the morning, do they even brush their teeth or wash their face??" :vs_laugh:

I'm a lazy bum myself, like REALLY lazy. But I spend the little bit of time organizing the truck in order to make life easier.
 
We're all wired differently. I have to do the same thing weekly. So you're the one that's got the problem Hacks.... you ocdeeeing guy you
I fail to see how doing something often is made easier by keeping your tools and material messy and unorganized. You can have your stuff neat and organized and still ready to go for frequent use.

My posts are about the vans with the pile of "stuff" taking up to entire floor space, making it so that you have to dig what you need out from under many other things.
 
If it takes you a few hours to clean up your truck, you are doing something very, very, very wrong.
The way it should go when you finish a service call: You put all the extra material back where it belongs and add the few minutes it takes to the job cost.

The way it actually goes: You toss all the excess material into a bucket and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out the bucket(s).

The way it should go when you buy material for inventory: You immediately put all the material away where it belongs.

The way it actually goes: You toss all the new material (still in its bags) into the back of the truck or onto the passenger seat and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out and putting it away.
 
The way it should go when you finish a service call: You put all the extra material back where it belongs and add the few minutes it takes to the job cost.

The way it actually goes: You toss all the excess material into a bucket and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out the bucket(s).

The way it should go when you buy material for inventory: You immediately put all the material away where it belongs.

The way it actually goes: You toss all the new material (still in its bags) into the back of the truck or onto the passenger seat and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out and putting it away.
There is middle ground.

I understand that when someone is done with each and every job that they don't want to put stuff back. I also understand that they don't want to do it at the end of the day.

But they can do it in the morning, along with getting what they will need for the day off of the shelves and ready to go. 5 minutes on average.
 
Clean van

A while back I had a job at a fire department after checking and I was invited to pull my van into the engine bay.
Firefighters were cleaning their ambulance, as I greeted them I said jokingly if you have time my van is filthy could you clean for me please. When I came out of the basement where I was working to get tools I found a clean van.
That’s a great customer, though I was embarrassed and on the way back from lunch stopped at the grocery store and bought a gallon of ice cream as a thank you.
 
A while back I had a job at a fire department after checking and I was invited to pull my van into the engine bay.
Firefighters were cleaning their ambulance, as I greeted them I said jokingly if you have time my van is filthy could you clean for me please. When I came out of the basement where I was working to get tools I found a clean van.
That’s a great customer, though I was embarrassed and on the way back from lunch stopped at the grocery store and bought a gallon of ice cream as a thank you.
What no cannolis?! :biggrin:
 
I usually have a clean, organized van. If the doors are open the customer/inspector/contractor always comments on it. I think it really sells you if you want to be the kind of contractor that people really respect and hire for high end work. It’s also a good distraction for the picky inspector who notices every detail. I’ve passed multiple inspections just due to neatness. I think it really says a lot.
 
Even my loaner vehicle is a rolling mess after a couple of days. I still get people calling who I've taken care in the past who want what I have to offer as far as confidence in what I do. That said, if you have the drive to keep it all clean and organized, don't be me, be better than I am. Nothing wrong with that. I'm the boss and can take the good and bad with that title.
 
Just cleaned up the pickup box.






I try and tidy up whichever truck I ran that day when I get back at night, that way I'm ready to go in the AM or if I get called out I know everything is where it should be and I can just get in and go.
 
Yeah we're an industrial/utility contractor, mostly water and wastewater treatment. I don't stock much of anything, if we did we'd have trailers like Zog's just full of parts.



I drive my pickup mostly for job walks, troubleshooting calls and going to calibrate an instrument or make a PLC change or something, keep my hand tools, meters and some basic stuff, sta-kons, wire connectors some misc. hardware and fittings, chemicals and rags for cleaning the always present crud. I have my 1 ton welding/mechanics rig too with more stuff, wire, cable, more fittings and hardware.



Guys are the same way, mostly running trouble calls, pick up orders for projects.
 
I mostly retired but occasionally help out a buddy his truck starts out neat and organized but as the workday progresses he throws his tools and materials from the job site into the vehicle. The next day the work takes twice as long because he can’t find anything. It drives me nuts because it’s my belief that the customer should pay me for putting my tools and materials away properly as that’s the way they were when I came to his job site. I always liked working alone especially now that I’m a crabby old man.
 
I usually don't carry a large amount of materials but I keep what I have in my truck organized for the simple fact that it saves time. Same goes for tools.
I have a friend who is a plumber. Everything is just pilled into his truck. When he arrives at a job site he simply dumps everything out on the ground and sorts threw it to find what he needs. It's sad to hear the customer make fun of him behind his back. On time he was searching for something in his junk pile and found an un-cashed check from a job he had done 6 moths ago.
 
Agreed. I make more money when I have to go out to the supply house. It’s the same as up selling more work on the job.
Not having the parts I need and having to go to the supply house works great for me because it gives me a chance to take a break and maybe get a cup of coffee.
 
I mostly retired but occasionally help out a buddy his truck starts out neat and organized but as the workday progresses he throws his tools and materials from the job site into the vehicle. The next day the work takes twice as long because he can’t find anything. It drives me nuts because it’s my belief that the customer should pay me for putting my tools and materials away properly as that’s the way they were when I came to his job site. I always liked working alone especially now that I’m a crabby old man.


This is what I MOSTLY do. Then there are the days I’m on the plant site until 10 PM and I got a 3 hour ride home. Then as long as it’s back on the truck it doesn’t matter where it goes. Works OK the next day and usually a put some stuff away. But day after day of this with no breaks and the truck goes downhill quick. Then it takes 2 or 3 hours to get everything back to where it belongs.
 
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